Author: Sherrill Joseph

Sherrill Joseph is the author of the Botanic Hill Detectives mystery series for kids age 9 to 12. He latest book is Jacaranda Street: Gravestone Image. You can find out more about her on her website, www.sherrilljoseph.com, or by clicking here, read her last post here, and buy her books here. Most people familiar with the Modern English alphabet would likely say that it contains twenty-six letters, beginning with A and ending with Z. And they would be correct. But did you know that until the early-1800s, there was a twenty-seventh letter in that alphabet? The “letter” followed Z. Can…

Sherrill Joseph is the author of the Botanic Hill Detectives Mystery series for middle grade kids. You can find out more about her on her website, www.sherrilljoseph.com, or by clicking here, read her last post here, and buy her books here. Who hasn’t sought those delicious chocolate-covered, candy-speckled, and rainbow-dyed eggs left by the E.B. in pretty baskets and springtime flowerbeds? For now, however, please try not to think about chocolate as we shift to the nonedible, nondenominational types of Easter eggs—those scattered in literature and movies. The formal name for a literary or cinematic Easter egg is an allusion.…

Sherrill Joseph is the author of the Botanic Hill Detective Mysteries for middle-grade students (ages 9-12). You can find out more about her on her website www.sherrilljoseph.com, or by clicking here, see her last post here, and buy her books here. What I Learned as a Student “Miss ‘C,’ you tell the best stories from your travel slides!” said starry-eyed eight-year-old me to my pretty second grade teacher. Every Friday afternoon, the dazzling Miss ‘C’ would regale my classmates and me with tales of ancient Egypt as we gazed at her on-screen in the shadow of the Great Pyramid of…

Sherrill Joseph is the author of the Botanic Hill Detectives mystery series for middle schoolers. You can find out more about her on her website, www.sherrilljoseph.com, or by clicking here, see her last post here, and buy her books here. “Ms. J, what does my name make you taste?” A fair question, the kind I am always asked by school students when I attend an author visit. An example of how a synesthetic person might associate a color with a letter or number. My kid-lit fans know I’m a synesthete. That’s a person with synesthesia. So is Rani Kumar, one…

Sherrill Joseph is the author of the Botanic Hill Detectives mystery series for middle-grade students. You can find out more about her on her website www.sherrilljoseph.com, or by clicking here, see her last post here, and find her books here. Some people do or do not celebrate Halloween because of their religious beliefs. Regardless, many of us love Halloween, and I am no exception. As the sun sets each October 31 and darkness overtakes our souls and neighborhoods, we—children and adults alike—are afforded the opportunity to address the mysteries that frighten us and even celebrate or poke fun at them.…

Sherrill Joseph is the author of the Botanic Hill Detectives mystery series for ages 9 to 12. You can find out more about her on her website www.sherrilljoseph.com, or by clicking here, read her last post here, and find her books here. If you are a reader, writer, or filmgoer, and your answer is, “YES,” then I say, “Perfect!” Aficionados of crime, thriller, mystery, whodunits, or suspense stories want to be confused by red herrings and MacGuffins. Why? Because when used effectively as plot devices in those genres, red herrings and MacGuffins help writers craft compelling stories, leaving an adrenaline-fueled…

Sherrill Joseph is the author of the Botanic Hill Detectives mystery series for children. You can find out more about her here, see her books here, and read her last post here. “So, why are you torturing my son by teaching him cursive?” That was the first question I, a staunch proponent of formal Zaner-Bloser cursive instruction, received from the frowning parent of one of my fifth graders at Back-to-School Night in September 2012. Not exactly the auspicious start I hoped for that evening. But the question reveals the ongoing divide in America: Should students be taught cursive handwriting anymore?…

Sherill Joseph is the author of the Botanic Hill Detectives Mystery series for middle grades readers. You can find out more about her here, see her books here, or read her last post here. The famous film director Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (1899-1980) proudly bore the title the “Master of Suspense.” Suspense surpasses mystery in making my stomach lurch and my heart pound.  Interestingly, suspense can be both terrifying and exhilarating. "Sacramento, California, USA - March 21, 2012: A 1998 USA postage stamp with a portrait of movie director and producer Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980). Suspense is defined as “a…

Sherill Joseph is the author of the Botanic Hill Detectives Series for middle school kids. You can find out more about her here, see her books here, and read her last post here. All of us have spent over a year now dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic in our own ways.  Perhaps like me, you have watched others—from a safe distance—in order to gauge how they have coped compared with yourself. I know I have learned some new, beneficial habits from admirable neighbors, family, and friends that have helped anchor me amidst the chaos and tragedy that have unfolded worldwide.  …

We've got another new Blackbird making her debut post. Meet Sherrill Joseph. You can find out more about her here, and see her books here. If you’re like me, you were inspired to become a better reader and a blossoming writer from one or more books you read as a child. As a ten-year-old, I could usually be found curled up on my bed after school, engrossed in my favorite series, the Nancy Drew Mysteries. Along with my book, I had my go-to snacks handy, namely, an apple and a generous portion of Fritos. A napkin helped me keep the…